Tunisia became the second North African side to qualify for the last eight after they won both halves against Sweden to end with a 29:26 victory and move through to face Croatia in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

EIGHTH-FINAL
Tunisia vs Sweden 29:26 (14:13)
As Travesas Sports Hall, Vigo

After being in charge for the first 10 minutes (4:3, ninth minute) Tunisia let the lead slip away as Sweden looked to assert their dominance and they led for most of the remaining first half, but Tunisia, one of the small surprises so far at Spain 2019, were having other ideas and they kept in touch. A Hassene Njim strike in the closing moments ensuring a 14:13 lead at the break in favour of his Tunisian side.

The period of dominance from Sweden had seen the Scandinavians one step ahead of their opponents at time, most notably when a quick reaction from Jack Thurin who slotted home a goal, following a block by Tunisian Noureddin Maoua on the line which saw the ball eventually spin into the Swedes' hands as Maoua - and his team - had turned to his bench to celebrate.

An even start to the second half ensured that Tunisia kept the lead but Sweden were not far behind, but a 3:0 run from the African side took them four up against their European opponents (25:21 - 49 minutes) and Sweden could not find an answer as the clock ticked down.

"They tear and struggle and do what they are good at," said Sweden coach Jerry Hallback to the Swedish Handball Federation website (translated). "They stressed us into making the wrong decisions and then stepped on us with everything they had, plus we were not sufficiently clinical when it was needed."

“The match was very hard, but we prepared for it,” said Tunisia’s Mohamed Aziz Aidi. “We focussed on improving the negatives and played with courage, courage is what brought us here.

“We worked harder than them; we are getting better and better and are showing the Tunisian handball team to everyone. Croatia is going to be hard tomorrow, but we want to play hard teams and we are proving ourselves.”

Mohamed Amine Darmoul again ended as the impressive scorer, grabbing 12 for Tunisia (nine from the break), while Gzim Salihi scored seven for Sweden.

Best Player of the Match: Mohamed Amine Darmoul (TUN)